John Claggart, fictional character, the sinister master-at-arms aboard the ship Indomitable in the novel Billy Budd, Foretopman (written 1888–91, posthumously published 1924), the last work by Herman Melville. Claggart, jealous of Budd’s cheerful personality and masculine beauty, falsely accuses him of fomenting a mutiny. In frustration, Budd lashes out and accidently kills Claggart. As the antithesis of the saintly Budd, the evil Claggart is a symbol of moral depravity and innate wickedness.